Biaism al-Qunat (in the Name of the Icons)

 The Order of the Pariah “What I have done I have done only for the sake of God and the Muslims, nor out of a desire for wealth or kingdom.”    The Siege of Tyre in 1111-12, according to the Chronicle of Ibn Al-Qalanisi "Give precedence to the jihad of yourselves over jihad against your enemies, for if yourselves are among your enemies prevent them from being disobedient to their Creator (who is praised). You will succeed in your hopes of victory over them. Make right what is between you and your Creator, and He will make right for you what is wrong in your (current) state of being, and reconcile your enmity. Tear out your disobedience to God" Kitab al-Jihad of 'Ali ibn Tahir Al-Sulami. The above two extracts from different chroniclers of the Muslim response to the Jihad will provide the framework for my examination of the Order of the Pariah . The Order is a complex amalgam of military and community services, ultimately focussed on the salvation of the Third Horizon, fr

  Firstly, a disclaimer, I am not an Islamic scholar or an expert in either linguistics or comparative religion.   When we draw from Arabic sources, it worth remembering that language is a child of culture and in Arabic, Islam has heavily influenced the language.   For instance, the following phrase is commonly recognized as a greeting (and is used incorrectly in many TV shows and Movies). SALAM ALAIKUM ( السلام عليكم ) – literally meaning “peace be upon you” This is a greeting that is between Muslims it is not intended for use by non-Muslims or between a Muslim and a non-Muslim.   The meaning of the phrase is a specific reference to the peace of God being a blessing to the person who receives it. It is also important to recognize that while this blog draws upon Islamic concepts, the The Middle East is not a monolith.   Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Yezidi, Druze and folk beliefs all play across this region creating a rich tapestry of belief which creates space for compe

   " Be gracious to me, Providence and Psyche, as I write these mysteries handed down for gain but for instruction; and for an only child I request immortality, initiates of this our power, which the great god Helios Mithras ordered to be revealed to me by his archangel, so that I alone may ascend into heaven as an inquirer and behold the universe. " The Liturgy of Mithras When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own—not of the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the